Colombia and Panama are failing to protect hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing the Darien jungle en route to the United States who have become increasingly vulnerable to theft and sexual violence, Human Rights Watch said in a statement. report released Wednesday.
The monitoring group called on both countries to appoint high-level officials to coordinate the response to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Darien and recommended that their governments work jointly to improve security and ensure greater assistance to groups. international.
“Whatever the reason for their journey, migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Darien Gap region have the right to basic security and respect for their fundamental rights along the way,” said Juanita Goebertus, director of Americas of Human Rights Watch, in a statement released before the release of the report.
Goebertus also asked the Panamanian government to reconsider a recent decision to suspend the medical charity, Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as MSF, from its territory.
“Restricting MSF’s work is the exact opposite of what is needed to address the situation in the Darien Gap,” Goebertus said.
Human Rights Watch’s recommendations come as record numbers of migrants cross the Darien jungle en route to the United States.
Last year, more than 520,000 people crossed the dense, roadless rainforest that separates South America from Central America, according to Panama’s immigration department. This was twice as much as in 2022.
About half of those making the dangerous journey were Venezuelans fleeing their country’s economic and political crisis. They were joined by tens of thousands of migrants from Ecuador and Haiti, as well as around 4,000 Afghan refugees.
The trek through the rainforest can last three to five days, with migrants paying hundreds of dollars to guides and smugglers to lead them along muddy trails and dangerous river crossings. Dozens of people drowned.
The Colombian side of the Darien is controlled by the Gulf Clan, a drug trafficking group that taxes local guides and earns up to $125 for each migrant who crosses into Panama, according to estimates provided to HRW by Colombian military officials , and cited in the group’s previous report on the Darien Gap, published in November.
In its most recent report, HRW said the Colombian government should ensure that prosecutors “investigate the role of the Gulf Clan in the passage of migrants and asylum seekers through the Darien Gap.” » He also urged Colombia to increase the state’s presence in the region and devote more resources to agencies responsible for investigating attacks against migrants.
“Crimes against migrants and asylum seekers in the Darien Gap, including numerous cases of sexual violence, remain largely unpunished and uninvestigated on both sides of the border,” the report said. “Accountability for these abuses is rare, due to a combination of limited resources and personnel…and poor coordination between Colombian and Panamanian authorities.” »
In February, Médecins Sans Frontières said cases of sexual violence in Darien were increasing at “exponential” levels, with 113 migrants treated for symptoms of sexual violence in two camps north of the Darien Gap in the space of one week. The organization said in a press release that it was “outraged by the level of impunity” with which criminal groups operate in the region. Shortly after, MSF operations in Panama were suspended by that country’s government.
In its report on Wednesday, HRW urged Panama to allow MSF and other humanitarian groups to operate in the country without “excessive restrictions.” He also accused the Panamanian government of adopting policies that limit the movement of migrants.
Under a policy known as “controlled flow,” Panama allows migrants crossing the Darien jungle into its territory to stay briefly in two camps, where they can pay to board buses that take them take you directly to Costa Rica, the next country on the route to the United States.
Human Rights Watch said in its report that Panamanian officials prevent migrants who cannot pay bus fares from leaving the camps. The organization called on Panama to change its controlled flow strategy and establish a plan that guarantees the right of migrants who wish to remain in Panama to seek asylum, while allowing those who wish to continue their journey to move freely in the country.
Panama and Colombia fail to protect migrants on Darien jungle route, Human Rights Watch says (msn.com)
